


We Are Family

by andromedomai



Category: DCU (Comics)
Genre: F/M, Family Bonding, Female Clark, Gen, Kon is a Teddy Bear, M/M, Male Kara, Superfamily, Teenage Drama, family matters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-10
Updated: 2017-04-10
Packaged: 2018-10-17 07:06:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,773
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10588935
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/andromedomai/pseuds/andromedomai
Summary: Conner has a problem, but instead of talking about it like normal people, he finds salvation in violence. So the El family wants to help their youngest member by trying to sooth him and ease his troubles. If only Conner would let them help him...or"Watch as the Woman of Steel battles her next enemy: Sibling rivalry, teenage angst and opinions about her love life! Will she be able to conquer this enemy or has she finally met her match?";)))





	

**Author's Note:**

> A.N.: Okay, so, happy birthday to… well, me ^u^ I’d like to thank to everyone who was kind and encouraging to me until this day, you are the reason I keep writing ;))) Also, thank you for tolerating my absence, I know it has been a long break and I apologize for that ^.^
> 
> I used some of the characters from Young Justice but that’s the only canon thing in this fic. Clara was like a mother to Kon since the day one and they are very close. (I never understood why the animated series made the relationship with Clark and Kon that strained, my heart was crying every episode until season 2.) Also, for some unknown reason, I felt like writing male!Kara again, so I don’t know what to say about that, lol ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ But on a happier note, I found a male!Kara fanart on Tumblr and it’s amazing, he’s so cute!!! So for the people who wants reference for imagining Karr, here’s the link. Credits to the very talented artist. 
> 
> http://karnivil.tumblr.com/post/144257845144/
> 
> Enjoy!

When Black Canary called her to the Mount Justice, saying that there was something she should see; Superwoman did not expect to see this.

At first, Clara’s lips curled into a smile when she found her fishnet and leather clad friend in the Mount’s medical bay, helping out the injured teens as usual. But after taking a look at the two unmoving patients Dinah was attending, her face fell. 

Lagoon Boy, who was slipping in and out of consciousness, lied in one of the gurneys as he deliriously mumbled unintelligible things. His body was practically covered with injuries and his nose was definitely broken, if the never-ending blood and the askew bone structure was anything to go with. And Bumblebee, who was also lying down next to him, looked knocked out cold. She was slightly in better condition than the other teen but she seemed to be supporting a couple of broken bones as well.

“What happened?” asked Clara as she approached them. “Did someone attack them? Were they sent on a mission alone?”

“Not exactly,” said Dinah, turning around to look at her without a greeting. “Someone did this to them but it wasn’t an attack.”

“Then, how-?”

“Here,” said Dinah as she pulled out a tablet. Clara took the tablet from her and started to watch the security footage from the Mount’s gym from earlier that day. At first it was just a friendly sparring. Then Karen and La’gaan were on the ground in less than a minute… _by Superboy._

“Kon-El did this?” Clara asked, bewildered. 

“Look, Clara,” started Dinah, with a sigh, her voice more concerned than angry or judging. “I don’t approve Conner’s brutality in any way and I’m also not trying to justify what he did to his teammates but… I think they were just sparring. You saw it too, they weren’t fighting. And then… I don’t know, it just happened out of blue. Conner has been like this lately, Clara. The walls on his room have constant holes in them and sometimes he just gets really energetic and spends hours in the gym. If I didn’t know him I’d say he was having problems with his powers again but I think he’s just trying to channel his emotions into something else, or he’s confused about a thing he doesn’t want to tell anyone. As you know, he was actually stable and content since he and Timothy started dating, but this past week… I mean, it isn’t out of character for Conner to punch walls or wreck the training materials, but I have to interfere when he starts hurting other members.”

Clara sighed and ran a hand through her black hair. “Is he here now?”

“Yes, he’s in the gym with Karr. I think he’s trying to talk to him about this.”

Clara nodded. “Thank you for talking to me first, Dinah, I appreciate it.”

After exchanging a few words with her friend about Oliver and Sara, Clara walked out of the medbay to find her boys.

\----

“Congrats, Conner, you get your ass handed to you. By me. Again.” Karr grinned at his cousin and flipped his wavy, blond hair back from his face. “Keep up with the good work, li’l bro.”

Conner huffed angrily from the ground he was thrown to. “Shut your face, asswipe,” he mumbled as he rolled to his side and pushed himself up. 

Karr let the insult slide and chuckled good-naturedly at him. “C’mon, don’t be such a spoilsport. You up for another round?”

“You bet.”

And exactly fourteen seconds later, Conner was lying on the ground once again. He growled angrily to Karr and himself. What was wrong with him? Why did Karr always beat him to it? Why couldn’t he even wind him up? Sure, he always landed a couple of nicely planned and tough enough fists on him but Karr always outsmarted him, always saw his move coming. Conner knew it was called experience, but he hated that other people had that when he didn’t. Conner groaned. He sounded really petty and he knew it.

But before he could demand another rematch, he heard a familiar voice say, “That was better than before, Conner.” Conner lifted his head to look at Superwoman leaning on the doorframe in her Kryptonian blue suit and red cape, smiling with a kind, perfect smile. “You’re learning quickly.”

Conner grunted as he got up. “But not quickly enough,” he spat, more to himself than Clara.

“Hey, Mama El,” greeted Karr.

Clara rolled her eyes amusedly and asked, “How many times do I have to tell you to stop calling me that, Karr-El?”

“Uhh, many, many times?” Karr grinned.

Clara chuckled at her cousin’s antics for a second, but then sobered up a little. “Uh, do you mind if talk to Kon-El alone for a moment, Karr?” she asked politely, but everyone in the room knew that she really wasn’t asking for permission.

Karr caught Clara’s slightly serious expression and understood why she was here. When his cousin used their Kryptonian names, he knew Kala meant business. It was funny how being an alien never saved you from being scolded if your full name made an appearance. So he only nodded and started to head for the door. “Talk to you later, Conner.”

When they were finally alone, neither Clara nor Conner made a move to break the silence. And when Conner started to feel like a ticking time bomb, he headed for the punching bag and started his routines once again.

“You’re pulling your arm away from your torso too much,” noted Clara. “That leaves your body vulnerable to the attacks.”

Conner didn’t answer her and kept punching.

Clara sighed silently but he heard her anyway. “How have you been lately, Kon-El?”

“Fine.”

“It might sound strange, but have you been feeling too angry, too energetic or maybe more irritable that the usual?”

Conner scowled at the bag while he kept punching it. “Maybe.”

Clara sighed once more but this time it wasn’t suppressed nor sad. “Kon-El, would you stop punching and listen to me when I’m talking to you?”

It didn’t take the World’s Greatest Detective to catch Clara’s firm tone. Conner did stop punching but didn’t turn to face the young woman. “Is this about La’gaan and Karen?”

“So you do know what you did was wrong.”

“Yeah, so?”

Clara stared at his back silently for a second before answering. She was used to Kon’s devil-may-care attitude and knew he sometimes used that when he felt defensive against her or anyone else, but while she mostly tolerated that, at the moment, it was only draining her patience. 

“Listen, Kon, I’m not here to fight. I just wanted to tell you that… nothing is wrong with you.”

That surprised Kon as he was waiting for a lecture rather than acceptance from his surrogate mother. “What?”

“Don’t get me wrong, it’s still not okay trying to take out your energy by beating your teammates to a pulp, but what you’re feeling is expected and normal. Actually it’s a quite healthy response. It means you’re adapting to your Kryptonian heritage and growing under the Earth’s yellow sun. It might even cause you to get some new powers of your own.”

Conner couldn’t lie to himself –the thought of finally flying or being able to reach to speeds only a handful of people on Earth could excited him endlessly. But he still didn’t get the part of the lecture he was most afraid of, so instead, he frowned. “Where are you getting at, Kala?”

“Look, Kon, we –Canary, Karr and I- are ready to provide you with anything you need. If you want to go out more, run more, train more we can help you. I know I told you the power surges and the anger in you is normal but you can’t keep damaging things or hurting your friends just because you feel like it. You also can’t batter up criminals and beat them into unconsciousness before handing them to the police. The MCPD has been worried that their criminals are barely alive when they arrive to the station. That’s not okay, that’s not how we do it. You have to fully understand that not everyone is like us –they can _die_ at your hands.”

“You think I don’t know that, Kala?” Conner suddenly yelled. “I know it and I’m trying hard to control my powers, I really am. But maybe I don’t want to keep calm all the time! Maybe I don’t want to do the things the way you do –maybe I don’t want to be a hero!”

Unearthly blue eyes that were almost the same as his blinked at him for a second and it was enough for Conner to feel guilty. But he didn’t want to back down, because it was the truth. He knew he didn’t want to be a killer, but at the end of the day, he didn’t know if that was synonymous with being a hero.

“Conner,” Clara trailed but she didn’t actually sound disappointed –just… sad. “You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to, and nobody is forcing you to be someone you aren’t, if that’s how you feel like. Of course you can question our morals, our methods and find your own path accordingly. But that still doesn’t change the fact that we live among humans. I know that whoever you chose to be, you _won’t_ be a killer, because that’s just not who you are. The humans, they… they’re fragile and think they can face anything and be victorious. But they could get–”

“Hurt or die, I know. I have a boyfriend, I know how fragile and stubborn they can get. But while I’m trying to control myself and trying not to interact with them so that I don’t get angry, I’m getting lonely!” When he finally shouted it out loud, Conner realized that it was the problem all the time. “I nearly have no friends and the ones I have aren’t even here! Tim is studying in Gotham, Bart stays with Wally, Cassie is in Themyscira, Gar is visiting his mother and I can’t get along with humans! I’m totally alone!”

“Kon,” Clara called out calmly. But when he turned to face her, she couldn’t hide the hurt blooming across her face quickly enough. “You are never alone. Yes, I know it’s hard to get along with humans and I’m not telling you to like them all, but you still have Karr and me. And… we can always get you enrolled to a different school if it helps.”

“It’s not about the school! You don’t understand what I’m going through at all!”

Clara flinched a little at his words but didn’t respond to that. She could tell him how wrong he was and how good she understood him but she knew he wasn’t thinking logical at the moment. When she was a teenager herself, she always hated when adults acted like they never were young once. She had promised herself to never forget what it felt like to be a teenager, so that she wouldn’t be one of _those_ adults she despised.

The female Kryptonian slowly nodded at her son. “Alright, Kon,” she said, but her soft voice was completely devoid of any accusations. “Karr, please come in.”

The said person walked in sheepishly while scratching the back of his neck. “Sorry, I… I wasn’t eavesdropping, I mean, not intentionally. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” said Clara calmly. “I know you boys don’t like to have heart-to-heart moments, but maybe Karr will understand you better than I do, Kon.” Then without any other words, she silently floated out of the room. A couple of seconds later, they heard the mechanical voice of the Zeta-tube announcing her departure.

Conner, finally calming down after his rant, sighed angrily and returned to his punching bag. With each punch, he tried to make the guilt go, but Clara’s sad, blue eyes didn’t disappear from his mind even for just a moment.

“You’re being unfair to her, dude.”

“Oh, don’t you start too, Karr!” Conner shouted. “How am I being unfair to her? She has a perfect life! As Clara Kent she has her dream job, colleagues that get along with her, a boyfriend who loves her and as Superwoman, practically the whole world worships her! Everyone likes her, she has no reason to feel alone. She doesn’t understand what it’s like to be an outcast!” When he changed his position to kick the bag better, Conner realized Karr shaking his blond head at him. “What?!”

“You don’t know how wrong you are, Kon.”

“What?”

“Her life is stable now –and it was never _perfect,_ by the way- but how do you think it was before that? Dude, she crashed into this world as a baby and spent thirteen years believing that she was a human being like the rest of the planet. Imagine starting to defy gravity and floating one day. Doing impossible things, having skin made of steel and not being able to tell it to _anyone._ Do you still think she doesn’t know what it feels like to be alone?”

Kon stared at the wall silently before answering. “I didn’t know…”

“She sometimes tells me about the dilemmas she had as a teenager,” Karr continued in a calmer voice. “About revealing herself to the world and start being a hero. She didn’t know what was acceptable by humans and what was not, so she had to figure it all out by herself. I’m not trying to glorify her dude, but you really don’t see things from her point of view.”

“She… I mean, I knew some of those stuff, but she never told me how it truly was,” Conner muttered to himself.

But Karr laughed bitterly at him. “Kon, dude, I love both of you just the same and I’m not favoring anyone, but she tries. She tries talking to you but you never listen to her.”

Kon bowed his head, trying to resist the urge to shuffle his feet. 

Fortunately for him, Karr wasn’t expecting any words, so he continued. “My ship crashed into this world two years ago, when I was bodily 16 years old. Clara was 24 at the time and had just managed to have a life among humans, but I had no experience with a race I haven’t even heard about –but I still wasn’t entirely alone. Clara helped me through all my phases of anxiety and teenage drama, because she’d went through it herself as well. Then we found you.” 

The older Kryptonian huffed affectionately and started to smile gently. “I don’t know if you knew, but I hadn’t seen Kala happier than she was when we saved you from CADMUS –except maybe when Bruce had finally asked her out on a date or when I decided to have a human life. You were created as a weapon to destroy Superwoman and replace her, you were half human with less than a little control over yourself –but you were also half Kryptonian. You were one of us. I can’t imagine how hard it is for you, being a part of two species at the same time and trying to adapt to them both after being raised in a lab your whole life. And believe me, Clara is trying to understand too, but if you want her to get you better, you have to tell her yourself.”

Conner let Karr come closer to him and grab his shoulder. “I… I don’t like talking to people,” he confessed. “What if I say something wrong and upset her?”

“You won’t,” Karr assured him. “It will make her happy if you tried to talk to her. So try. You don’t have to talk about yourself, just… share something with her. Okay, bro?”

Conner thoughtfully nodded to him. “Yeah, okay.”

\----

“I’m trying to understand him, B, and I thought I could, but he keeps telling me that I don’t get him. He doesn’t talk to me either, so I don’t even know what to do next.” Clara sighed and ran a hand through her hair once again. “Did that ever happened to you, Bruce?”

The two heroes were in the Watchtower’s monitor room, with Batman having the shift and Clara visiting him, dressed in her normal clothes. She was floating in the air with her jean clad legs crossed and elbow propped on her left knee while watching Batman work on his computer, knowing that he was also listening to every single word coming from her.

“Did I ever had a half human half Kryptonian kid with teenager problems? No,” Bruce said nonchalantly. “But I have a bunch of human kids with same problems.” He turned his chair so that he could face the floating woman. “The only thing I can tell you right now is to let him be. I know you’re caring, but you shouldn’t crowd him this much. He does something bad, sure, make him understand that it was wrong. But let him come to you himself. And he will come around eventually. You have nothing to worry about, kids love you.”

“I don’t know about that.”

“Clara, even Jason and Damian like you, there is nothing beyond that. And Conner is your own flesh and blood. Believe me, he loves you too but he’s too proud to admit it.”

Clara sighed for the hundredth time that day and rubbed her face under her glasses. “Okay,” she admitted. “Maybe I should give him some space. He has to figure things on his own, right?”

Bruce nodded silently at his girlfriend. Then he frowned a little. “Why are you in civvies?”

“Hmm? Oh, Lois called. She said she has a hot scoop and asked me if I wanted to share it. I said yes, but I really don’t feel like going.”

Bruce nodded again, then turned back to his monitors. “What are you doing next Saturday?”

“Nothing. Why?”

“Bruce Wayne has to show up on a charity ball next weekend. Would Clara Kent like to accompany him?”

Clara delicately smiled. “She’d love to. But she needs to know how strict the dress code will be.”

“I’ll send you the dress. My tailor’s already done with it.”

Clara sighed and rolled her eyes. What was it with famous people and wanting to look so… _extravagant_ all the time?

“Don’t worry, it’ll be comfortable. I know your style. It’s quite elegant.”

“Thanks, B.” She lowered herself and dropped a kiss to her boyfriend’s cheek.

“Uh… Kala?” said a different voice suddenly and Clara immediately blushed, slightly jumping in the air. Even though it has been two years since they had been a couple, Clara still tended to get embarrassed when someone caught their affections unexpected. 

“Am I… interrupting something?” asked Conner.

“Conner, hi!” said Clara, her voice a little more pitched than the usual.

“Did you need something, Superboy?” said Batman, totally unfazed by the teen’s sudden appearance.

“Uh, yeah. Can I… can I talk to you for a second, Kala? Alone?”

Clara turned to Bruce and he curtly nodded. “I’ll be in my quarters, Kala.”

“Alright, B. See you around.”

When Batman’s dark presence left the room, Clara turned to Conner. “You can sit down, Conner.” Conner did as he was told and sat tentatively on the chair Batman just rose from. “What can I do for you?”

“I… I just wanted to… talk.”

Clara raised one brow. “What happened, is everything alright?”

“No, nothing happened. I just wanted to tell you that… I’m… _sorry.”_ He took a deep breath and waited for a second to gather his inner strength. “I’m sorry for what happened with La’gaan and Karen, but I’m also sorry about… earlier. I was rude to you and it wasn’t fair. I… I feel bad about it. And I didn’t know how well you could get me. Karr told me about you, I hope you don’t get mad about it.”

Clara shook her head and smiled, nodding for him to continue.

“I just… I think I need your help with this… fury in me. I still don’t know if I can be the hero you see me become but I don’t want to hurt anyone else, especially Tim. Will you help me?”

Clara touched down to the ground with her feet and grabbed Conner’s hand, squeezing it gently. “Of course, Kon. I’ll be here for you in whatever way you need me to be.”

Conner suddenly grimaced and wrinkled his nose. Then he said –or tried to say- _“T-Thank you, Kala-El,”_ with a stuttering Kryptonian. 

Clara beamed at him and grabbed him in a bear hug. _“You’re welcome, Kon-El,”_ she murmured into his soft, black hair. 

Kon stiffened in the hug at first, then relaxed and hugged her back with equal strength and enthusiasm. If a couple of tears were shed, no one was going to mention it anyway.

When they finally parted after a long while, Conner suddenly frowned at Clara. “Is this a new jacket?” He looked pointedly to the light brown leather jacket on Clara’s navy blue t-shirt. “Hold on, you can’t afford a jacket this good. Did your _boyfriend_ buy you this?”

Clara knew that Kon respected Bruce but not necessarily liked him that much. She smiled amusedly at her son’s possessiveness and huffed a little laugh. “Do _I_ say anything when _your boyfriend_ buys you stuff?”

Kon immediately blushed deep red right up to his ears. “Point taken.”

Clara laughed bright as the day which put a slight smile on Conner’s lips as well. “Hey, do you know if Tim will be on that charity event too?”

“I don’t know, why don’t you ask my boyfriend?”

“Shut up, Kala.”

As Clara kept laughing at Kon’s absolutely adorable blush, suddenly Karr appeared in the room with a light breeze. “Hey, you guys!” He put his arms around the duo’s shoulders. “Everything good and fixed?”

Clara chuckled a little at her cousin. “Yes, Karr, it is.”

“Great! Hey, you going somewhere, Kala?”

“I was, but I changed my mind.”

“Oh, goody! Soo… does anyone feel like ice cream?”

All of them laughed when Kon and Clara raised their hands simultaneously. “C’mon boys,” said Clara. “Let’s get some ice cream, I know just the place. My treat.”

“Ow yes, Mama El!”

“If you don’t stop calling me that, you won’t get a damn thing, Karr-El.”

“Ma’am, yes, ma’am!”

Kon shook his head to their antics and smiled. These people were really his… friends, kin and… _family._

For the first time in a long while, Kon didn’t feel alone.

**Author's Note:**

> A.N.: #appreciateKon-El,2k17!!!


End file.
